From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement?
Observation
While in my high school placement I observed my college prep class from the back of the room. This group of students is a very talkative bunch. Today the class was working individually on writing their conclusions for a lab that they have been completing for some time now. The students were given a short lecture on how the conclusion was to be written. Some students were paying attention. A couple of students that were sitting off to the sides were whispering to each other periodically. When the students got to working they were to work silently and individually. Mrs. Malone circled the room moving in and out of the rows of tables managing the students and answering question. Most of the class followed these directions. Some students did not have any incentive to complete the work that was assigned. There was a handful throughout the block asked to leave the room for the bathroom. One student kept getting out of his seat and interrupting. There were about three separate pairs of students that talked to each other the whole time. Mrs. Malone managed the noise and tried to direct the work as best she could. She moved a couple of the misbehaving students to the lab tables at the sides of the room. When the students were moved they knew their behavior changed right away and they got to work. I did get up in the middle of the class to see the students progress. While they had a good deal of time to complete the assignment some students has paragraphs completed while some had a sentence or two written.
Reflection
In my class I wish to have a positive, direct and productive classroom. I want students to be actively engaged in the right manor. Students should engage in the lessons by answering questions and asking their own as well. Students do not need to enjoy what they are learning but they should be active participants. I will encourage students to behave in a proper manor by authority. I don’t want students to fear me but I want students to know that I will not take those that are misbehaving. As I observe Mrs. Malone I see many of the things I want to bring to my classroom in her teaching. The students know that she means business. When Mrs. Malone directed the students to move there was no talking back and questioning. The students knew that it was their first warning and they are not to push her again. I feel that Mrs. Malone has established this order in her classroom in a productive manor. I know that it is not always going to be easy and will take practice to engage and direct students in the way that I wish in the classroom. After reflecting on this observation I realized that one of the reasons that Mrs. Malone made the students do this independently was one of the things I observed about the amount of work the students completed. With the wide range of the task done she didn’t want those that were not going to do the assigned work to interrupt and hold back those hard working students. I do like this approach with getting the most work you can out of a group that is within your power.
Nicely done. It is important to keep in mind that even with Ss have a task and time to do it, not all will engage without some extra attention. You should note this in your lesson plans and include reminders for what you should be doing while Ss are supposed to be working, i.e. moving around and checking their work.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement?
Observation
While in my high school placement I observed my college prep class from the back of the room. This group of students is a very talkative bunch. Today the class was working individually on writing their conclusions for a lab that they have been completing for some time now. The students were given a short lecture on how the conclusion was to be written. Some students were paying attention. A couple of students that were sitting off to the sides were whispering to each other periodically. When the students got to working they were to work silently and individually. Mrs. Malone circled the room moving in and out of the rows of tables managing the students and answering question. Most of the class followed these directions. Some students did not have any incentive to complete the work that was assigned. There was a handful throughout the block asked to leave the room for the bathroom. One student kept getting out of his seat and interrupting. There were about three separate pairs of students that talked to each other the whole time. Mrs. Malone managed the noise and tried to direct the work as best she could. She moved a couple of the misbehaving students to the lab tables at the sides of the room. When the students were moved they knew their behavior changed right away and they got to work. I did get up in the middle of the class to see the students progress. While they had a good deal of time to complete the assignment some students has paragraphs completed while some had a sentence or two written.
Reflection
In my class I wish to have a positive, direct and productive classroom. I want students to be actively engaged in the right manor. Students should engage in the lessons by answering questions and asking their own as well. Students do not need to enjoy what they are learning but they should be active participants. I will encourage students to behave in a proper manor by authority. I don’t want students to fear me but I want students to know that I will not take those that are misbehaving. As I observe Mrs. Malone I see many of the things I want to bring to my classroom in her teaching. The students know that she means business. When Mrs. Malone directed the students to move there was no talking back and questioning. The students knew that it was their first warning and they are not to push her again. I feel that Mrs. Malone has established this order in her classroom in a productive manor. I know that it is not always going to be easy and will take practice to engage and direct students in the way that I wish in the classroom. After reflecting on this observation I realized that one of the reasons that Mrs. Malone made the students do this independently was one of the things I observed about the amount of work the students completed. With the wide range of the task done she didn’t want those that were not going to do the assigned work to interrupt and hold back those hard working students. I do like this approach with getting the most work you can out of a group that is within your power.
Nicely done. It is important to keep in mind that even with Ss have a task and time to do it, not all will engage without some extra attention. You should note this in your lesson plans and include reminders for what you should be doing while Ss are supposed to be working, i.e. moving around and checking their work.